Electrical enclosure

ABSTRACT

An electrical enclosure includes a metal body and a metal cover connected by a hinge to each other. The hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal cover. The body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes. The enclosure can have a dual flange structure wherein one of the side walls includes a flat flange and three of the side walls include edge flanges. The enclosure can also have a structure wherein each of the side walls upper portions is connected to its neighboring upper portions and each of these upper portion connections is angled relative to its corresponding side wall corner.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of enclosures, and more specifically to a enclosures for electrical equipment.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Electrical enclosures are structures for holding electronic equipment such as electrical components, wires, monitoring equipment, and the like. Enclosures include a box-like body, a cover, and some means for fastening the cover to the body. When manufacturing enclosures, a manufacturer must have a ready supply of hinges, bolts, and other hardware to assemble the enclosures. Moreover, specialized fixtures are typically required during assembling and welding of the enclosures.

[0003] Enclosures are used in a wide variety of applications. Accordingly, customers require a variety of sizes of enclosures and enclosures having varying filtering or sealing levels. For instance, some enclosures must be sealed to prevent the influx of water, or dust, or other items. Moreover, some enclosures must stand up under sometimes harsh conditions and physical stresses. However, it is time-consuming and expensive to re-tool the assembly line and to re-order different size hinges and other required hardware for each type of enclosure manufactured.

[0004] Accordingly, it is desirable to simplify the manufacture of enclosures and to provide an enclosure design which allows the enclosure to be easily modified in size without an expensive retooling. It is also desirable to construct an enclosure that provides a relatively high level of sealing without being too expensive to construct.

SUMMARY

[0005] In light of these and other needs, an electrical enclosure has been devised which provides for less costly manufacture, is easily modifiable, is sturdy, and provides needed levels of sealing.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention provides an electrical enclosure having an integral hinge. In one embodiment, an electrical enclosure includes a metal body and a metal cover connected to each other by a hinge. The hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal cover. The body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes. This integrally structured hinge allows the enclosure to be manufactured without having to order and keep in inventory a wide variety of hinges for different size enclosures.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention provides a dual flange structure on an enclosure. In one example, an enclosure includes a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein one of the four side walls includes a flat flange on an upper edge of the one wall and three of the four side walls include edge flanges on an upper edge of each of the three side walls. The enclosure also includes a cover for covering the open top of the body. The cover has a gasket positioned to mate with the flanges of each of the side walls of the body. Among other advantages, this dual flange structure provides high sealing while being relatively easy to construct.

[0008] One aspect provides a structurally stronger enclosure. In one example, an enclosure includes a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein each of the four side walls includes a lower portion and an angled upper portion. Each of the four side wall upper portions are connected to their neighboring upper portions and each of these upper portion connections are angled relative to the corresponding side wall corner. Among other advantages, this angled connection structure allows the whole angled corner to share the stress applied on the corner instead of the stress being localized. This provides for a sturdier enclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of an enclosure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 2 shows a portion of the cover of the enclosure of FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 3 shows the hinge and flange structure of the enclosure of FIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a rear view of the hinge of the enclosure of FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a left side isometric view of the enclosure of FIG. 1 with the cover closed.

[0014]FIG. 6 is a right side isometric view the enclosure of FIG. 1 with the cover closed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0016] The enclosures described herein can be oriented in virtually any direction. Thus, as used herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “top,” and “bottom”, etc. identify only relative directions with respect to the figures and the context of the description, regardless of absolute orientation. Also, as used herein, enclosure types and ratings (i.e. NEMA type 4, etc.) will refer to the NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) standards as set forth in NEMA Standards Publication 250-1997, “Enclosures for Electrical Equipment (1000 Volts Maximum).”

[0017]FIG. 1 shows an enclosure 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Enclosure 100 includes a body 110 and a cover 120 which is connected by a hinge 130 to body 110.

[0018] Body 110 includes four side walls 111 a-111 d, a bottom wall 112 and an open top 113. The side walls 111 a-111 d and bottom wall 112 define a space for holding electrical equipment, fiber optic equipment, flow monitoring equipment such as gas pipeline flow monitors, and so forth. In one embodiment, body 100 is metal, such as a sheet metal.

[0019] Body 110 includes a flat flange 116 on an upper edge of wall 111 a of body 110. Flat flange 116 has a perpendicular orientation relative to side wall 111 a of the body. When cover 120 is rotated and closed upon body 110, a gasket on the cover is compressed against flat flange 116 to seal the enclosure. Side wall 111 a also includes an angled portion 145 which is located beneath the flat flange 116 and between the major surface of the wall and the flat flange. Although the perspective of FIG. 1 makes it difficult to visualize angled portion 145, FIGS. 3 and 4 shows portion 145 in better detail. Further details of angled portion 145 will be described below.

[0020] Body 110 also includes three knife edge or edge flanges 119 a-119 c. Edge flanges 119 a-119 c do not include a flat surface relative to the side walls. Instead, the edges of the flanges extend generally upward from the side walls. This allows a gasket to form a tight seal under a less amount of sealing pressure relative to a flat flange such as flange 116.

[0021] In one embodiment, each of the three side walls 111 b-111 d includes a single bend 142 a-142 c, respectively. For example, as shown for side wall 111 d, the side wall 111 d includes an upper portion 144 and a lower portion 143 having single bend 142 c therebetween. The upper portion 144 of the wall comprises the edge flange, which is angled relative to the main surface of the wall. The angle of the upper portion 144 can be various angles. In various embodiments, a cross-sectional angle between the lower portion 143 of the wall and the upper portion 144 of the wall is in the range of greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees. In some side walls, such as side wall 111 b, the upper portion 144 is angled away from the body. In other side walls, such as walls 111 a, 111 c, and 111 d, the upper portion is angled inwards towards the body. The example shown is not meant to be exhaustive. Other combinations of angled edge flanges are within the scope of the present enclosure design. For example, all the edge flanges can be inward, or all can be outward. Among other advantages, the edge structure of the present embodiment is relatively easy to manufacture since it only requires one bend per wall while still providing the required amount of sealing, since the knife edge along with the gasket on the cover combine to provide a NEMA 4×seal, for example. The single bend edge also helps provide structural strength as will be discussed below.

[0022] A latch 115 is located on one side of body 110. Latch 115 couples with a catch slot on cover 120 to close the cover against the body 110, further details of which will be discussed below.

[0023] In one embodiment, cover 120 is manufactured from a metal, such as a sheet metal. Cover 120 is dimensioned to completely cover the open top of body 110. In one embodiment, cover 120 includes three flanges, such as flange 121, which extend generally perpendicularly from the major planar surface of the cover. Cover 120 does not include a flange on the side of the cover which includes hinge 130. This provides manufacturing advantage since only three flanges need to be formed. This also allows the size of the cover to be extended without excessive manufacturing retooling and without having to order a different size hinges.

[0024]FIG. 2 shows a portion of an inner surface 124 of cover 120 of enclosure 100. Cover 120 includes a gasket 122 attached to inner surface 124 of the cover. Gasket 122 can be a form-in-place gasket, a strip gasket, or other equivalent type of gasket. Gasket 122 is positioned to mate with the upper edges of each of the side walls 111 a-111 d of body 110. Cover 120 also includes a slot 126 in the front flange of the cover. Slot 126 engages with latch 115 to hold the cover on the body. This closure technique helps provide an easy-to-manufacture enclosure since different size covers can include equivalent slots or different slots for use with the same or different latches. A manufacturer does not need to retool to substitute a different fastening means on the cover.

[0025]FIGS. 3 and 4 show further details of hinge 130 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hinge 130 is an integrally formed hinge. The hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes 132 on body 110 and one or more integrally formed tubes 134 on cover 120. In one embodiment, for example, the cover tubes 134 are formed of the same sheet metal member as the rest of the cover and the body tubes 132 are formed of the same sheet metal members as the rest of the body. To assemble the enclosure, body tubes 132 and cover tubes 134 are aligned in a collinear arrangement so that the central holes or bores 136 of the body tubes and cover tubes form a continuous bore along the edge of the enclosure. A hinge shaft or hinge pin 137 is positioned and located within the continuous bore of the body tubes and the cover tubes.

[0026] Body tubes 132 are located on flat flange 116 so that the bore 136 of body tubes 132 is located above a top surface of the flat flange. Cover tubes 134 are located so that the bore of the cover tubes is located above the inside surface of the cover. Accordingly, the cover tubes 134 have a bore center which is approximately the same distance from the surface of the cover as a center of gasket 122 (the top of which is shown as a dotted line in FIG. 3). In one embodiment, the hinge bore is approximately centered on the dead center of the gasket. This provides that when gasket 122 is forced against flat flange 116 there is no or minimal gasket wiping action. This improves the sealing performance of the gasket.

[0027] The integrally formed hinge 130 of the embodiment described above provides that a separate hinge is eliminated from the manufacturing process. This reduces inventory needs and eliminates the welding and fastening step of attaching the hinge to the enclosure. Moreover, the present integral hinge structure allows the enclosure to be progressively sized without a need to do a complete assembly overhaul. For instance, both the cover and body can merely be extended without any difficulty. The hinge automatically “grows” along with the members during manufacturing. Moreover, the present design is easy to automate for high volume production runs while still being easy to modify. The present design also lends itself to automated robotic welding. Another feature of the embodiment described above is that the cover design provides one less flange to form in the cover than in typical enclosure covers.

[0028] Another feature of the present embodiment is that it combines flat flange sealing on the hinge side with edge sealing on the remaining three sides. Since a flat flange requires a high leverage clamping force to provide a proper seal, the flat flange is located on the hinge side. The remaining three knife edge seals require less force and are located on the low pressure sides relative to the hinge. This provides a simple to manufacture, easily modifiable, sturdy enclosure design. In one embodiment, the present design provides a NEMA 4×rated enclosure.

[0029] Another aspect of the present embodiment is that the design provides a higher structural integrity than past designs. For instance, referring to FIG. 3, upper portion 144 of side wall 111 b is connected to its neighboring upper portion 145 of side wall 111 a at the ends of each of the upper portions at a connection section 152, which in this embodiment is a welded section. Connection section 152 is angled relative to a side wall corner 154 corresponding thereto. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it is seen that each corner of the body 110 includes an angled connection corner such as corner 152. This angled connection provides better structural integrity since the entire length of the upper corner 152 (and the other upper corners of the enclosure) shares the stress when an force is applied to the enclosure. It is believed this structure distributes the stress better than in past designs in which the stress was localized at the very edge of the corner. In various embodiments, the corner connections can be angled to the left, right, inward, or outward relative to their corresponding side wall corners.

[0030] The overall structure of the present embodiment allows for easier manufacturing relative to past enclosures. In one example of manufacturing the above enclosure, the body is fabricated from sheet metal and formed into the body structure shape, the open corners and edges of the body are welded, and the body is ground or painted if needed. The latch is installed if necessary. No fasteners or welding are necessary for installing a separate hinge. Moreover, the relatively simple structure of the present body allows for ease of manufacturing and ease of modification since the hinge is integral and three sides include only a single angle bend. Likewise, the cover is fabricated from sheet metal and formed. Again, no separate hinge is needed. Moreover, there is one less flange to form than in past cover designs. In one embodiment, the corners of the cover are not welded. They are formed tight. If a welded corner is needed, there are only two corners to weld since one flange has been eliminated from the cover. To finish assembly, the gasket is put on the cover, the cover and body hinge members are aligned, and the hinge pin is put into place. Overall, the present design eliminates non-value added manufacturing operations while still achieving a robust and simple to construct enclosure.

[0031]FIG. 5 is isometric view of enclosure 100 with the cover closed. This is typical of one possible orientation of the enclosure, with the hinge 130 on the left and the opening of the body towards the front. Referring to FIG. 1, which show enclosure 100 open, it can be seen that angled flanges 119 a and 119 c are angled to help prevent water from pooling near the edges of the enclosure when it is oriented as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Different orientations of the enclosure and different angled flanges are within the scope of the present system.

[0032]FIG. 6 is another isometric view the enclosure of FIG. 1 with the cover closed. This view shows further details of latch 115 engaging slot 126 to close the cover upon body 110. Some embodiments omit slot 126 and latch 115 and a screw-type fastener is used to couple the cover to the body.

[0033] An electrical enclosure has been described which provides for less costly manufacture, is easily modifiable, is sturdy, and provides needed levels of sealing. Among other advantages, one aspect of the present invention includes an integrally structured hinge which allows the enclosure to be manufactured without having to order and keep in inventory a wide variety of hinges for different size enclosures. One aspect provides a dual flange which provides high sealing while being relatively easy to construct. One aspect provides a structurally stronger enclosure which includes an angled connection structure which allows the whole angled corner to share the stress applied on the corner.

[0034] These examples and other embodiments, aspects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the preceding description of the invention and referenced drawings or by practice of the invention.

[0035] Accordingly, it is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fall scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An enclosure comprising: a metal body; and a metal cover connected by a hinge to the metal body; wherein the hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the metal cover, wherein the body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes.
 2. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the metal body includes a flat flange on an upper edge of the body and wherein the body tubes are located on the flat flange.
 3. The enclosure of claim 2, wherein the body tubes are located on the flat flange so that a hole in each of the body tubes is located above a top surface of the flat flange.
 4. The enclosure of claim 2, wherein the flat flange has a perpendicular orientation relative to a side wall of the body.
 5. The enclosure of claim 2, wherein the body includes three edge flanges.
 6. The enclosure of claim 2, further comprising a gasket attached to an inner surface of the cover, wherein the cover tubes have a center which is approximately the same distance from a surface of the cover as a center of the gasket.
 7. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the cover includes three flanges, and wherein a side of the cover having the tubes does not include a flange.
 8. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the body tubes are centered above a flat flange of the body and wherein the cover tubes are centered below an inner surface of the cover.
 9. An enclosure comprising: a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein one of the four side walls includes a flat flange on an upper edge of the one wall; and a cover connected by a hinge to the body and located so that the cover covers the open top of the body when the cover is closed; wherein the hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the cover, wherein the body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes; wherein the body tubes are located on the flat flange so that a hole in the one or more body tubes is located above a top surface of the flat flange and wherein a gasket attached to the cover and located near the hinge is forced against the flat flange with a minimal gasket wiping action when the cover is closing.
 10. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the flat flange has a perpendicular orientation relative to the one wall of the body.
 11. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein three of the four side walls of the body each include an edge flange.
 12. The enclosure of claim 11, wherein each of the edge flanges is defined by a single bend in each of the three side walls.
 13. An enclosure comprising: a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein one of the four side walls includes a flat flange on an upper edge of the one wall and three of the four side walls include edge flanges on an upper edge of each of the three side walls; and a cover for covering the open top of the body, the cover having a gasket positioned to mate with the upper edges of each of the four side walls of the body.
 14. The enclosure of claim 13, wherein the cover is connected to the body by a hinge which is located on the one wall of the body which has the flat flange.
 15. The enclosure of claim 14, wherein the cover includes three flanges and does not include a flange on a side of the cover proximate the hinge.
 16. The enclosure of claim 14, wherein the hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the cover, wherein the body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes.
 17. The enclosure of claim 16, wherein the body tubes are located on the flat flange so that a hole in the body tube is located above a top surface of the flat flange, wherein the gasket is forced against the flat flange with a minimal wiping action.
 18. The enclosure of claim 13, wherein each of the edge flanges is defined by a single bend in each of the three side walls.
 19. The enclosure of claim 18, wherein each of the four side walls includes an upper portion and a lower portion having an angle therebetween, wherein each of the four side walls upper portions are connected to their neighboring upper portions at an end of each of the upper portions, wherein each of the upper portion connections are angled relative to a side wall corner connection corresponding thereto.
 20. An enclosure comprising: a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein one of the four side walls includes an upper portion and a lower portion having a single bend therebetween, wherein the upper portion comprises an edge flange; and a cover for covering the open top of the body.
 21. The enclosure of claim 20, wherein a cross-sectional angle between the lower portion of the one wall and the upper portion of the one wall is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees.
 22. The enclosure of claim 20, wherein the upper portion is angled away from the body.
 23. The enclosure of claim 20, wherein the upper portion is angled inwards towards the body.
 24. The enclosure of claim 20, wherein a second wall and a third wall of the four side walls each include an upper portion and a lower portion having a single bend therebetween, wherein the upper portion of each of the second wall and the third wall comprises an edge flange.
 25. The enclosure of claim 24, wherein a fourth wall of the four side walls includes a flat flange on an upper edge of the fourth wall.
 26. The enclosure of claim 25, wherein the cover is connected to the body by a hinge which is located on the fourth wall of the body.
 27. The enclosure of claim 26, wherein the hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the cover, wherein the body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes.
 28. The enclosure of claim 20, wherein a second wall, a third wall, and a fourth wall of the four side walls each include an upper portion and a lower portion having a bend therebetween, wherein the upper portions of each of the four side walls are connected to their neighboring upper portions at an end of each of the upper portions, wherein each of the upper portion connections are angled relative to a side wall corner connection corresponding thereto.
 29. An enclosure comprising: a body having four side walls and an open top, wherein each of the four side walls includes an upper portion and a lower portion having an angle therebetween, wherein each of the four side walls upper portions are connected to their neighboring upper portions at an end of each of the upper portions, wherein each of the upper portion connections are angled relative to a side wall corner connection corresponding thereto; and a cover for covering the open top of the body.
 30. The enclosure of claim 29, wherein three of the four side walls include edge flanges.
 31. The enclosure of claim 30, wherein a fourth wall of the four side wall includes a flat flange having an angled portion located beneath the flat flange and between the fourth wall and the flat flange.
 32. The enclosure of claim 31, wherein the cover is connected to the body by a hinge which is located on the fourth wall of the body.
 33. The enclosure of claim 32, wherein the hinge includes one or more integrally formed tubes in the body and one or more integrally formed tubes in the cover, wherein the body tubes and the cover tubes are aligned in a collinear arrangement and a hinge shaft is located within the body tubes and the cover tubes.
 34. A method of assembling an enclosure, the method comprising: positioning one or more integral hinge tubes of a cover of the enclosure next to one or more integral hinge tubes of a body of the enclosure so that a bore of the one or more hinge tubes of the cover is aligned with a bore of the one or more integral hinge tubes of the body, thus comprising a composite bore; and inserting a hinge pin within the composite bore.
 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising mounting a latch to a wall of the body and providing a slot in the cover to engage with the latch.
 36. A method of manufacturing an enclosure, the method comprising: forming a body wherein three sides of the body include a single bend in an upper portion of each of the three sides and wherein a fourth side of the body includes a flat flange; forming a cover having flanges on only three sides of the cover; and hingedly coupling the cover to the body so that a side of the cover not having a flange is located proximate the flat flange of the body.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein hingedly coupling comprises inserting a hinge pin within one or more integral hinge tubes of the cover and one or more integral hinge tubes of the body. 